As part of the consultations for preparing the budget for 2024, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, met with representatives of associations originating from the Defense-Homeland War and the Union of Syndicates of Srpska. Union members reiterate their full support for the proposal to set the minimum wage for the next year in Srpska at 1,050 marks. Increasing disability benefits should follow the average wage, according to the associations of veterans.
For the Union of Syndicates, the most crucial topics in the discussion with the Prime Minister of Srpska were the economic situation, reforms, and, most importantly, the minimum wage amounting to 1050 KM.
“If social partners do not agree on the amount of the minimum wage, the decision will have to be made by the Government,” stated the Syndicate.
Prime Minister Višković emphasized that the Government’s priority is constantly improving the position of workers, including enhancing the status of veteran categories.
“We hope to have larger funds next year for the procurement of prostheses to ensure a better quality of life. All of us expressed our desire to continue the work of the working group,” added Željko Volash, President of the Association of Amputees “UDAS.”
Housing and employment for children of fallen fighters remain the objectives of associations and organizations originating from the Homeland War. They also highlight the problem of locating missing Serbs. In the last 15 years, only 59 individuals of Serbian nationality have been found and identified.
The Institute for Missing Persons in BiH bears the greatest responsibility, according to them.
Isidora Graorac, President of the Republic Organization of Families of Captured and Fallen Fighters and Missing Civilians, deemed it alarming that in the past 15 years, only 59 individuals of Serbian nationality had been found and identified.
According to her, efforts should be made to return this process to the entity level, primarily concerning the identification of 570 remains located in three memorial ossuaries in the Republic of Srpska.
Improving the conditions of these categories is also a goal of the Srpska Government, which, through the budget for the next year, plans to allocate an additional 150 million KM for these purposes.
